Heart of Demise.

Epilogue (End of book 1)

It turns out that a lot of events could transpire within a week. And indeed, a lot of events did transpire.

Basically, after the fight, I was treated and sent to Teddy's house to rest. My friends occasionally stopped by to check on me– Marie included. Afterward, Rivver and Teddy, got the situation sorted with the Skellites. Teddy gathered a few of his architect friends and started a project to rebuild the palace, with most of the labor coming from volunteer work. Rivver became a leader of sorts in the project, but she also appointed a few Skellites to guard Rory in a personalized prison. I had to question how secure this prison was, but I was reassured that it was a "top-class, near-inescapable place."

But, I didn't hear a single mention of Simon.

"--And as for me, a lot of Skellites see me as a guardian or something."

"A... guardian?" I asked.

"Right! During your fight, I was protecting a lot of the white-eyed Skellites from the red-eyed ones with my mold. I-I didn't do that great of a job, honestly, but they still think I'm some kind of hero."

"I see."

Kyrelle was sitting in a chair across from me, lightly tapping the table as she told me the story. Rupert was laying on the floor beside me. I was gently rubbing his head.

I was happy, surprisingly enough. Look at us, taking down a mental and saving a town from their wrath. It was certainly a heroic thing. But that isn't what made me happy.

I was glad to be finally done with this. Jesus, why'd we even come here in the first place? I seemed to have completely forgotten.

"Don't you remember? It was to help Teddy."

"Oh, right, that's why. You guys coerced me into it. Wait, was I talking out loud?"

She nodded.

"Haaa... damn it."

Still, I couldn't shake this feeling that, somehow, we missed something important during our time here.

Oh, right.

I still had no idea how to even begin getting out of the complex.

"You look... unhappy."

"How could I be? I'm petting Rupert."

"..."

I sighed. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was still a letdown. I stood up from my chair and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"On a walk. I just need to think some things out, maybe check on how the palace is doing."

I didn't get a verbal response, so I just assumed that she was fine with it and left. I walked down the steps of the porch, around the well, and down the hill.

It had been four boring days since I rolled up to Rivver at the plaza. I've gotten my clothes back since then, but I still spent my time recovering, occasionally sitting on the porch so I could chat with the locals. The Skellite who rolled me was called Ryan. We became pretty good friends thanks to our shared interest in people-watching.

I walked through the door at the bottom of the hill. Still, an empty, deserted building. I always had this slight chill go up my spine when I walked through it. It was so lifeless compared to the road that it led to.

Yet again, Skellites were out and about, minding their own business. This time though, I didn't see many sad faces. They all seemed to, at the very least, be feeling better, and that was consistent throughout my whole journey to the palace–